Brussels - NATO ambassadors held talks with their Russian counterpart on Monday for the first time since the alliance froze relations with Moscow in the aftermath of August's conflict in Georgia.

NATO spokesman James Appathurai said no formal agenda had been set for the meeting, which was to last "about an hour" at the alliance's headquarters in Brussels.

NATO placed high-level meetings of the NATO-Russia Council (NRC), which governs relations with its Cold War enemy, on hold to protest Russia's invasion of Georgia.

Since then, Germany, France and Italy have been pushing for those meetings to resume, arguing that NATO must talk with Russia.

One of the issues likely to be tabled on Monday involved Russian help in securing supplies to NATO operations in Afghanistan. (dpa)